Safety-First 

Temperance  Facts  and  Thoughts 
for  Temperance  Sunday  from  the 
National  Temperance  Union 

Under  the  auspices  of  the  Federal 
Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ 
in  America 


By 

ALBERT  R.  ROGERS 

Director 

NATIONAL  TEMPERANCE  UNION 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


FOREWORD 


HE  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in 
America,  representing  more  than  17,500,000  com¬ 
municant  members  of  thirty  denominations,  pre¬ 
sents,  through  its  Commission  on  Temperance,  plans 
for  a  nation-wide  educational  campaign  to  convince 
the  individual  of  the  economic  value  of  total 
abstinence. 

The  Commission  will  develop  this  work  through  the  “NA¬ 
TIONAL  TEMPERANCE  UNION”  without  sectarian  limitation  or 
entrance  into  the  political  field. 

The  plans  have  been  pronounced  eminently  practical  by  leaders 
in  the  business  and  labor  world  and  by  other  men  of  affairs.  They 
have  been  approved  by  Protestants,  Roman  Catholics  and  Jews,  who 
feel  the  need  of  united  effort  in  this  moral  issue. 


AN  OFFICIAL  COMMUNICATION  FROM  THE  COMMISSION 
ON  TEMPERANCE  OF  THE  CHURCHES  OF  CHRIST 

IN  AMERICA 


E  are  asking  the  ministers  of  our  churches  to  co¬ 
operate  with  the  NATIONAL  TEMPERANCE 
UNION  in  bringing  to  the  attention  of  their  congre¬ 
gations  this  splendid  work  of  the  Commission  on 
Temperance  of  the  Federal  Council  with  which  your 
denomination  is  very  actively  associated, 
is  outlined,  is  new  and  is  the  result  of  several  years’ 
earnest  work  and  after  many  meetings  and  consultations  with  varied 
interests. 

In  view  of  the  great  importance  of  this  comprehensive  movement 
of  the  church  at  this  crucial  time,  the  Commission  on  Temperance 
looks  for  your  active  and  earnest  co-operation  in  presenting  this  work 
to  your  congregation  at  as  early  a  date  as  possible. 

The  thoughts  prepared  by  Mr.  Rogers  have  been  gathered  from 
many  sources  with  the  object  in  view  that  some  of  the  ideas  here 
presented  may  be  useful  to  you  in  your  Temperance  Sunday  Sermon. 

The  Commission  on  Temperance, 

Rufus  W.  Miller,  Chairman. 


SAFETY-FIRST 


ODAY  we  hear  much  of  preparedness — preparedness 
for  war,  preparedness  for  peace,  as  for  years  we  have 
preached  preparedness  for  our  heavenly  home. 

Preparedness  has  a  new  name — it  is  called 
Safety-first — that  does  not  mean  self  interest  first, 
but  prevention.  The  great  leaders  of  the  war  that 
is  sapping  the  life  blood  of  the  nations  of  Europe  have  learned  won¬ 
derful  lessons — costly  lessons — awful  lessons  of  what  preparedness 
means.  Not  so  much  the  lack  of  having  on  hand  when  needed,  great 
ships,  armies  and  munitions  of  war,  but  that  King  Alcohol  must  be 
conquered  before  they  can  get  their  men  100%  efficient. 

It  is  rather  late  to  lock  the  barn  door  when  the  horse  is  stolen. 
Safety  first  would  have  had  the  lock  there,  but  as  the  lessons  are 
taught  in  life,  we  profit  by  them. 

Russia  has  been  fighting  drink  for  years  in  ways  of  which  we 
know  little.  The  brain  crazy  making  vodka  was  sapping  all  the  life 
and  efficiency  of  their  men.  Workmen  were  seldom  able  to  work 
but  a  few  days  in  a  week  and  their  small  earnings  went  into  this  most 
terrible  form  of  nerve  killing  alcohol  that  deadens  the  brain  for  days. 
Russia  awoke  at  last  by  sheer  necessity  and  the  Czar’s  ukase  cut  it 
off  root  and  branch.  A  great  cry  of  protest  went  up  for  it  was  bring¬ 
ing  in  millions  of  roubles  in  revenue  a  year,  as  it  was  a  Government 
monopoly.  Rut  note  the  results.  Finance  Minister  Bark  at  Petro- 
grad  lately  said,  “The  saving  banks  July  1,  1915,  showed  deposits  of 
$900,000,000  above  last  year,  which  is  almost  the  exact  amount  the 
treasury  lost  owing  to  the  prohibition  of  Vodka.” 

A  department  similar  to  our  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor 
states,  “the  abolition  of  vodka  has  caused  the  greatest  revolution  in 
Russia’s  history.  Now  in  our  industrial  plants  it  is  full  time  and  effi¬ 
ciency,  a  thing  never  before  known.  Russia  will  never  go  back  to 


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vodka.”  In  1891  Dr.  Peter  Semyonivitch  Alexyeef  published  a  book 
entitled,  “Why  Do  People  Stupefy  Themselves,”  for  which  Tolstoy 
wrote  the  preface.  Here  was  the  real  beginning  of  the  greatest  Tem¬ 
perance  movement  in  history.  From  that  date  temperance  societies 
multiplied  in  Russia  and  petitions  went  up  to  the  Czar  in  cumulative 
numbers,  but  Russia  finally  took  the  stand  that  it  did  because  it  was 
driven  to  it.  It  was  the  recognition  of  the  necessary  economic  side 
of  temperance,  and  the  Safety-First  idea  that  startled  the  world  when 
the  ukase  was  given  publicity.  The  most  ardent  temperance  advo¬ 
cate  never  dreamed  of  such  results  in  Russia. 

The  Russian  Minister  of  Finance  lately  stated,  “In  coal  regions 
we  have  sent  thirty  per  cent,  of  the  male  inhabitants  to  the  war,  and 
yet  the  output  of  work  is  not  only  what  it  was  before,  but  greater  by 
thirty  per  cent.,  because  everybody  is  sober.”  Shops  that  formerly 
shut  down  on  Mondays  because  so  few  of  the  hands  were  sober  enough 
to  be  present  are  now  putting  out  more  work  than  before  the  war 
decimated  their  staffs.” 

Think  what  a  billion  dollars  in  revenue  from  vodka  meant  to 
Russia,  but  Russia  realized  also  that  all  the  while  the  dollars  of  income 
were  sapping  her  vitality.  The  so-called  loss  of  the  dollars  in  revenue 
has  proved  the  country’s  direct  gain  in  efficiency  and  labor  far  be¬ 
yond  the  amount  formerly  received  in  revenue.  Temperance  means 
health,  larger  wages,  better  work,  safer  conditions  and  more  wealth 
better  distributed,  which  all  goes  to  make  happier  homes. 

France  was  more  autocratic  when  she  prohibited  absinthe.  There 
had  been  no  such  appeal  against  the  national  curse  of  France  as  Rus¬ 
sia  had  seen.  In  both  countries  indeed,  as  all  over  Europe,  the  scien¬ 
tists  and  reformers  have  known  that  alcohol  was  a  poison  whatever 
its  form,  for  the  truth  had  been  filtering  through  the  public  prints 
and  recorded  in  many  volumes.  But  it  was  not  until  France  had  been 
driven  by  war  to  face  ruin  or  quit  the  drink  that  makes  its  men  so 
inefficient,  that  she  found  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  forbid  its 
sale  or  manufacture.  It  was  the  economic  necessity  that  drove  France 
to  this  act,  that  has  proved  such  a  beneficial  thing  to  that  country. 
France  today  is  abstemious  to  a  degree  that  no  Frenchman  would 
have  dared  predict  one  year  ago,  not  from  sentiment,  but  from  the 
economic  advantage  it  means  to  the  individual  and  the  nation. 

The  Kaiser  has  formally  declared  that  beer  drinking  handicaps 
the  efficiency  of  his  soldiery. 


England  today  is  making  a  strong  stand  for  temperance.  Great 
Britain  frankly  admits  that  she  is  tremendously  handicapped  in  the 
war  because  of  the  hours  dissipated  by  men  when  their  country  needs 
their  best  service  in  many  ways,  as  well  as  the  making  of  munitions 
to  assure  their  national  defence.  Lloyd  George  has  insisted  “that  of 
all  the  enemies  England  has  to  fight,  alcohol  is  the  most  active  and 
dangerous.”  The  motto  of  Europe’s  military  leaders  appears  to  be, 
“Trust  in  God  and  keep  your  army  dry.” 

America  needs  temperance  even  more  than  these  foreign  coun¬ 
tries.  The  revenues  derived  from  the  sale  of  alcohol  when  cut  off 
will  be  a  thousand  times  returned  in  the  increased  efficiency  of  its 
men,  and  the  millions  now  spent  for  rum  will  be  saved  to  its  people. 
Our  National  Government  has  forbidden  the  rank  and  file  of  both  our 
army  and  navy  to  use  alcohol  while  on  duty. 

The  splendid  work  done  by  the  temperance  workers  that  seemed 
so  hopeless  for  years  is  now  commencing  to  get  its  reward.  What  a 
debt  of  gratitude  America  and  the  world  owes  to  those  men  and 
women  who,  through  all  these  years  have  stood  firm  and  unmovable, 
working  and  praying  for  the  cause.  They  are  true  heroes,  fit  to  rank 
with  the  great  patriots  of  our  land,  for  they  were  working  both  for 
the  freedom  of  souls  from  King  Alcohol,  and  for  the  great  prepared¬ 
ness  for  peace.  They  were  the  pioneers  in  Safety-First. 

Today  a  great  wave  of  temperance  is  sweeping  over  our  land. 
State  after  State  takes  the  stand  for  Prohibition.  The  press  is  full 
of  temperance  stories  and  of  the  hue  and  cry  the  liquor  interest  is 
making  as  they  see  the  “drys,”  as  they  call  them,  win  victory  after 
victory.  Temperance  is  recognized  as  never  before  in  the  home,  in 
society,  and  in  the  great  industrial  world. 

“The  man  who  drinks  even  moderately,  is  no  longer  wanted  in 
any  line  of  work.  He  is  not  a  good  risk  for  life  insurance.  He  is  not 
wanted  in  little  or  big  business.  He  is  frowned  on  in  good  society. 
The  railroads  and  the  factories  will  not  employ  the  drinking  man,  if 
they  know  him.  The  man  found  drinking  is  discharged  promptly. 
For  successful  work,  the  best  results  can  be  wrought  by  men  who 
are  abstainers,  with  level  heads  and  sound  bodies.  The  total 
abstainer  is  the  man  preferred  in  all  walks  of  life.” 

The  remarkable  growth  in  public  sentiment  in  favor  of  total  ab¬ 
stinence  means  the  conservation  of  human  life,  a  lengthening  of  the 
average  longevity,  a  reduction  in  accidents,  and  consequently  a  grad- 


9 


ual  reduction  in  the  death  rate  from  alcoholism.  The  most  eminent 
medical  authorities  condemn  the  use  of  liquors  in  any  quantity  as 
injurious  to  human  life. 

So  few  realize  the  awful  havoc  King  Alcohol  is  playing  with 
human  life.  In  a  speech  by  Congressman  Richmond  P.  Hobson, 
he  says : 

“Alcohol,  even  in  small  quantities,  attacks  all  the  vital  organs 
and  the  nervous  system,  the  tissue  and  the  blood.  A  large  per¬ 
centage  of  premature  deaths  arising  from  disease  are  due  to  this 
cause.  The  attack  on  the  blood  lowers  the  efficiency  of  the  white 
blood  corpuscles  to  destroy  the  disease  germs,  exposing  the  drinker 
far  more  than  the  abstainer  to  the  ravages  of  consumption,  pneu¬ 
monia,  typhoid,  and  other  germ  diseases.  The  records  of  insurance 
companies  show  that  in  the  period  from  25  to  45  the  mortality  of 
total  abstainers  is  only  a  fraction  of  that  of  the  average.  This  means 
that  the  bulk  of  deaths  in  young  manhood  are  due  to  alcohol. 

“The  records  of  the  insurance  companies  show  also  that  a  man, 
starting  at  the  age  of  20  as  a  total  abstainer,  lives  to  the  average  age 
of  65,  whereas,  starting  at  the  age  of  20  as  a  moderate  drinker,  he  dies 
at  51,  losing  14  years,  or  a  cutting  down  of  nearly  one-third  of  his 
days. 

“Starting  at  the  age  of  20  as  a  heavy  drinker,  a  man  dies  at  35; 
a  sheer  loss  of  two-thirds  of  the  span  of  his  whole  life. 

“We  are  dying  at  the  rate  of  1,000  per  61,000  of  the  population. 
Total  abstainers  in  our  midst  are  dying  at  the  rate  of  560  per  61,000 
of  the  population,  though  living  under  the  same  conditions.” 

This  means  that  alcohol  actually  kills  directly  and  indirectly, 
from  disease  and  the  weakening  of  the  constitution  of  men  and  women, 
over  700,000  of  our  citizens  every  year.  When  a  great  ship  goes 
down  and  a  thousand  souls  are  lost  the  world  stands  aghast  in  horror, 
and  tens  of  thousands  of  dollars  are  quickly  pledged  in  relief.  Again 
and  again  are  we  called  upon  for  help  in  such  mercy  calls  and  how 
eagerly  and  gladly  we  respond.  But  when  the  call  comes  to  help 
save  our  men  and  women,  our  boys  and  girls  from  this  awful  death 
and  destruction  of  alcoholism — how  hard  it  is  to  get  willing  response, 
except  in  driblets  for  this  great  safety-first  principal. 

The  loss  of  life  through  accidents  caused  by  King  Alcohol  is 
appalling.  The  misery  and  unhappiness  it  causes  is  past  all  reckoning. 

Temperance,  like  any  other  general  business  movement,  for  it  is 
essentially  a  good  business  movement,  gathers  to  its  ranks  certain 
individuals  who  are  invariably  attracted  to  any  forward  movement 
having  humanity  or  progressiveness  as  its  battle  cry,  but  there  is  so 


10 


much  sympathy  expressed  and  so  little  real  work  done  by  many  who 

could  and  should  help  their  fellowman  and  country  in  more  tangible 
ways. 

Temperance  as  a  Safety-first  measure  causes  increased  pro¬ 
duction  far  more  important  to  the  progress  of  mankind  than  the 
mobilation  of  armies  and  the  efficiency  of  men  for  war ;  though  to 
accomplish  this  the  warring  countries  forbid  liquor  to  their  men. 
What  a  wonderful  public  recognition  of  the  value  of  temperance. 
We  see  wealthy  big-hearted  men  lay  fabulous  sums  at  the  disposal 
of  a  world’s  peace  tribunal ;  and  we  see  in  what  short  space  of  time 
the  martial  strength  of  a  continent  may  apparently  forget  the  life 
conserving  principles  to  which  they  have  subscribed.  But  do  we  see 
any  such  enthusiasm  and  big-hearted  generosity  for  the  real  stepping 
stone  of  Peace,  which  is  Temperance.  What  a  wonderful  opportunity 
there  is  here  for  a  great  endowment.  What  greater  monument  could 
any  man  leave  than  that  through  his  wealth — this  fair  country  could 
be  emancipated  from  the  ravages  of  King  Alcohol. 

Millions  of  our  industrial  men’s  lives  and  homes  are  at  stake 
because  they  do  not  understand  the  detrimental  effects  of  alcohol  and 
the  economic  value  of  temperance.  The  need  of  a  great  educational 
campaign  to  expound  the  gospel  of  truth  to  the  men  and  women  of 
our  industrial  classes  and  the  ever  increasing  foreign  element  in  our 
factories,  mines,  railroads  and  shops,  to  teach  them  the  economic 
value  of  temperance  is  the  real  need  of  the  hour. 

There  was  held  in  Philadelphia,  the  middle  of  October  of  this 
year,  the  Safety  First  Congress,  at  which  over  a  thousand  delegates 
were  present,  each  representing  some  large  industrial  organization 
or  railroad  of  this  country,  brought  together  to  discuss  the  best  way 
to  prevent  accidents  in  their  plants.  They  had  two  special  thoughts 
in  their  deliberations — safety-first  as  a  prevention  of  accidents,  and 
safety-first  as  an  investment  that  can  be  considered  in  terms  of 
money,  both  to  the  employee  and  to  the  employer.  One  salient  thing 
that  all  were  interested  in  was  temperance.  It  had  been  presented 
in  many  ways  for  many  years,  but  the  man  behind  the  buzz  saw,  or 
the  burring  drill,  or  the  miner  in  the  deep  damp  tunnel,  or  the  track¬ 
walker  on  the  railroad,  had  not  been  reached  in  a  way  to  show  him 
his  danger  and  the  economic  value  to  himself. 

The  great  influx  of  foreign  element  into  our  country,  bringing 
with  them  their  habits  of  both  carelessness  and  the  use  of  light 


11 


stimulants,  has  been  largely  the  cause  of  the  great  number  of  acci¬ 
dents  that  made  the  Safety-first  plan  necessary  in  our  great  industrial 
plants.  How  to  teach  this  class  of  men  was  the  subject  of  many 
discussions.  It  is  a  serious  problem  that  happily  seems  about  to  be 
solved,  and  that  through  a  combination  of  the  Church,  with  the  in¬ 
dustrial,  financial  and  labor  leaders,  the  directors  of  the  Safety-first 
and  Welfare  Departments  of  these  industrial  plants,  and  the  active 
co-operation  of  the  men  themselves. 

The  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America,  which 
represents  30  denominations,  with  166,000  churches  and  over  seven¬ 
teen  and  a  half  million  members,  through  its  Commission  on  Temper¬ 
ance,  has  been  quietly  working  for  some  time  to  devise  an  educational 
plan  of  temperance  to  solve  this  weighty  problem.  These  plans  have 
just  been  completed  and  are  today  being  presented  to  many  of  its 
churches.  The  work  of  the  National  Temperance  Union,  that  has 
been  formed  by  the  Commission  on  Temperance,  to  carry  out  its 
plans,  is  to  be  a  nation-wide  educational  movement  to  convince  the 
individual  of  the  economic  value  of  total  abstinence  in  the  belief  as 
stated  in  their  slogan,  “Total  abstinence  first,  efficiency  and  safety 
follow.” 

It  is  not  to  be  a  political  organization  in  any  way,  and  though  its 
seventeen  and  a  half  million  members  makes  it  the  largest  organiza¬ 
tion  in  the  world,  it  will  not  undertake  in  any  way  to  frame  laws  or 
enforce  them,  but  will  leave  that  work  to  other  temperance  organiza¬ 
tions  which  are  working  along  that  line.  The  Union’s  work  is  to  be 
exclusively  educational.  Some  of  the  purposes  of  this  great  organiza¬ 
tion,  which  has  its  headquarters  in  Philadelphia,  and  which  is  now 
appealing  to  the  church  of  the  country  for  support  in  its  unified  tem¬ 
perance  work  may  be  of  interest  and  fitting  on  this  Temperance 
Sunday. 

The  work  is  to  be  directed  by  a  Committee  of  one  hundred  of  the 
leading  industrial,  financial  and  labor  leaders  of  this  country.  On 
this  Committee  are  men  whose  names  are  prominent  in  the  business 
world,  men  who  are  officers  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor, 
men  whose  wise  guidance  will  make  this  work,  when  backed  by  our 
Churches  and  its  millions  of  members,  the  great  success  it  deserves. 

The  work  of  the  N.  T.  U.  is  to  be  constructive  and  not  over¬ 
lapping.  It  will  seek  new  methods  in  temperance  work  that 


12 


have  been  only  lightly  touched  on  before,  and  in  all  cases  to  help  other 
temperance  organizations  where  possible.  Only  a  few  of  the  de¬ 
nominations  have  temperance  organizations  connected  with  their 
denominational  work.  First,  the  National  Temperance  Union  must 
secure,  through  a  research  department  in  conjunction  with  existing 
foundations  and  societies,  further  instructive  temperance  information. 
To  disseminate  it  to  the  best  advantage  is  the  biggest  task.  A  most 
helpful  information  bureau  that  gives  practical  information  regarding 
the  economic  side  of  temperance  is  being  established,  and  is  free  to 
all  who  desire  information  along  this  line. 

The  press  of  the  country  is  opening  its  columns  very  freely 
to  temperance  information,  but  say  so  much  that  is  sent  is 
inaccurate  that  the  N.  T.  U.  is  establishing  an  extensive  Press  Bureau 
to  supply  the  public  and  religious  press  and  temperance  organiza¬ 
tions  with  additional  reliable  and  economic  temperance  facts. 

The  National  Temperance  Union  recognizes  the  great  need  for 
Temperance  to  be  taught  among  the  industrial  classes,  for  they  are 
difficult  to  reach,  and  the  Union  is  arranging  traveling  exhibits, 
which  are  being  prepared  with  extreme  care  to  present  temperance 
from  the  health  and  economic  side,  so  that  they  may  be  sent  into 
the  mines,  mills,  factories  and  railroads  of  this  country  for  discussion 
and  study  among  the  men. 

This  is  the  hardest  class  of  people  to  reach,  for  it  is  largely 
composed  of  foreigners  who  do  not  even  speak  our  language. 
From  many  interviews  with  the  directors  of  the  Safety-first  and 
welfare  departments  of  our  large  industrial  plans,  it  is  found  that 
temperance  is  the  first  and  most  vital  plank  for  their  plan  of  pre¬ 
paredness  for  the  elimination  of  accidents.  Second.  That  the  man¬ 
agers  are  exacting  temperance  among  their  men,  both  for  the  safety 
of  the  employee  himself  and  the  other  employees,  and  because  they 
require  not  only  the  best  of  their  brain,  but  clear-headed  men.  Third. 
Not  only  do  they  lay  off  and  discharge  employees  who  insist  on  drink¬ 
ing,  but  in  many  factories,  mines,  and  railroad,  the  man  who  even  has 
a  taint  of  liquor  on  his  breath  is  at  first  reprimanded,  on  the  second 
offense  laid  off  for  a  day  or  more,  and  finally,  if  persisted  in,  dis¬ 
charged.  As  an  incentive  to  total  abstinence,  it  is  the  man  who  has 
merit  and  who  is  a  total  abstainer  who  is  advanced.” 

At  the  Safety-First  Congress,  many  of  the  delegates  were  inter- 


13 


* 


viewed,  and  there  was  not  one  but  who  agreed  that  temperance  is 
the  keystone  of  the  arch  of  the  Safety-first  work.  The  great  dimin¬ 
ishing  of  accidents  during  the  last  year  is  largely  due  to  the  increase 
of  temperance  among  the  men.  The  American  men  are  recognizing 
the  advantages  of  temperance  as  well  as  their  employers,  and  that 
the  hardest  man  to  convince  is  the  foreigner,  who  has  little  education 
and  who  has  been  brought  up  at  home  on  beer  and  light  wines.  The 
foreigners  do  not  understand  the  terrible  havoc  that  alcohol  makes 
in  their  systems  and  how  quickly  it  makes  them  inefficient,  especially 
in  this  country  where  they  get  the  very  worst  of  alcohol. 

One  of  the  principal  works  of  the  N.  T.  U.  is  to  reach  the  in¬ 
coming  emigrant  and  the  uneducated  foreign  element,  and  to  help 
educate  them  to  the  perils  of  drink,  showing  them  in  their  own  lan¬ 
guage,  in  words  that  they  can  grasp  and  understand,  and  in  striking- 
pictures,  the  detrimental  effects  of  drink  from  the  physical  and  the 
economic  side. 

The  managers  of  the  industrial  plants  say,  “We  can  not  bring  into 
our  plants  anything  that  smacks  of  politics.”  *  That  is  the  reason  this 
great  work  of  the  united  church  was  organized,  so  as  not  to  take 
up  the  question  of  temperance  laws  or  the  enforcing  of  them,  but 
leaving  that  to  the  other  temperance  societies,  whose  special  aim  it 
is.  This  work  is  a  truly  educational  one,  necessarily  so,  in  order  to 
reach  the  men  and  women  of  these  industrial  classes  that  others  do 
not  seem  to  be  able  to  reach. 

Another  department  of  work  that  the  National  Temperance  Union 
is  planning,  is  to  encourage  the  teaching  of  temperance  in  our  public, 
parochial  and  private  schools.  To  Mary  IT.  Hunt,  of  the  W.  C.  T. 
U.,  is  due  very  largely  the  credit  of  the  great  temperance  wave  that 
is  sweeping  this  country,  for  she  was  the  pioneer  of  this  great  work 
in  the  schools,  and  through  her  efforts  many  States  enacted  laws 
that  compelled  the  teaching  of  the  detrimental  effects  of  alcohol  on 
the  human  system.  At  first  the  liquor  interests  paid  no  attention  to 
this  teaching,  little  dreaming  that  the  lessons  taught  the  children  in 
the  schools  would  one  day  sweep  their  traffic  out  of  the  way,  but 
after  a  while  they  awoke  to  the  truth  of  the  old  saying — “Bring  up  a 
child  in  the  way  it  should  go  and  it  will  not  depart  therefrom.”  How¬ 
ever,  the  good  work  done  during  the  first  ten  years  could  not  be  ef¬ 
faced,  and  those  boys  and  girls  are  now  the  men  and  women  who  are 
helping  carry  the  burden  of  the  nation,  and  they  are  helping  to  make 


14 


up  the  strong  army  that  is  sweeping  rum  and  the  misery  and  the 
inefficiency  it  brings  in  its  wake  out  of  many  of  our  states. 

The  laws,  which  now  cover  all  the  states,  while  not  forgotten, 
are  not  being  enforced  in  many  places.  Where  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  or 
other  agencies  are  carrying  on  this  educational  work  in  the  schools, 
the  Union  will  help  them  and  co-operate  in  securing  proper  text¬ 
books  to  be  used,  that  are  up  to  date.  Where  this  work  is  not  being 
done,  the  Union  will  endeavor  to  secure  the  co-operation  of  the  school 
authorities  and  teachers.  They  will  not  do  this  by  trying  to  enforce 
laws,  but  by  convincing  the  school  authorities  of  the  economic  value 
to  the  child,  and  the  great  advantage  it  will  mean  to  its  City,  State 
and  Country.  The  work  of  the  Union  is  to  be  co-operative  and  to 
work  with  existing  temperance  organizations  wherever  possible,  and 
where  the  work  is  not  being  presented  to  carry  it  on  themselves. 

The  Union’s  plans  call  for  the  maintenance  of  a  lecture  bureau, 
the  giving  of  educational  welfare  expositions  in  co-operation  with 
other  temperance  and  welfare  societies,  which  will  show  the  under¬ 
lying  causes  of  poverty,  crime  and  domestic  unhappiness  is  largely 
the  results  of  intemperance,  and  will  also  show  the  beneficial  economic 
results  secured  through  temperance. 

Other  plans  call  for  a  great  advertising  campaign  through  the 
press,  and  by  especially  produced  Photo  Plays.  Special  stress  is  to 
be  laid  on  the  importance  of  temperance  as  an  economic  issue  in 
connection  with  civic  celebrations  on  the  Fourth  of  July.  Many  tem¬ 
perance  campaigns  are  to  be  carried  out  by  union  rallies  in  the 
churches,  throughout  the  entire  land,  especially  in  the  men’s  bible 
classes,  presenting  the  economic  value  of  total  abstinence  as  a  prac¬ 
tical  solution  of  the  problem. 

Business  efficiency,  industrial  economy,  the  fundamental  princi¬ 
pals  of  thrift,  clean  manhood,  pure  womanhood,  and  good  citizenship 
demand  that  we  Americans  take  “Booze”  as  it  is  called,  by  the  throat 
and  strangle  it,  as  a  Safety-first  prevention  for  the  economic  interest 
of  our  country,  and  as  the  strongest  plank  in  our  preparedness  for 
peace. 

This  official  work  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America  is  indeed 
a  wonderful  undertaking,  a  clear-cut,  sane  presentation  of  the  great 
issue  of  the  hour,  and  one  that  surely  deserves  the  support  of  the 
church,  and  every  member  thereof  whose  interest  in  temperance  is 
measured  beyond  just  sympathy. 


15 


NATIONAL  TEMPERANCE  UNION 


MANAGEMENT 


FEDERAL  COUNCIL 

OF  THE  CHURCHES  OF  CHRIST  IN  AMERICA 
PROF.  SHAILER  MATHEWS,  President 
REV.  CHARLES  S.  MACFARLAND,  General  Secretary 

NATIONAL  TEMPERANCE  UNION 
ORGANIZING  COMMITTEE  OF  DIRECTION 

RUFUS  W.  MILLER,  D.D.,  Chairman,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

HON.  JOSHUA  LEVERING,  Vice-Chairman,  Baltimore,  Md. 

CHARLES  SCANLON,  M.  A.,  Gen’l  Secretary,  First  Nat'l  Bank  Bldg.,  Pittsburgh. 
JOHN  WALTON,  Treasurer,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

SAMUEL  ZANE  BATTEN,  D.D.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

E.  C.  DINWIDDIE,  Washington,  D.  C. 

HON.  ALONZO  E.  WILSON,  Chicago,  III. 

HEADQUARTERS,  Stock  Exchange  Bldg.,  1411  Walnut  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Bell  Telephone,  Spruce  4705 

ALBERT  R.  ROGERS,  Director. 

J.  JARDEN  GUENTHER,  Associate  Secretary. 


